Newly appointed Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie said he was excited about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech during the Opening of Parliament Address on Thursday, describing it as pragmatic and futuristic.
“What I like the most is that he acknowledged where we lacked as government,” he said in an interview with the SABC.
“He also given us how he’s going to fix that, this is one of the best speeches by the President, the Government of National Unity (GNU) is going to fly,” the Patriotic Alliance leader said.
“And I can tell you, we have our ducks in a row. When he said South Africa is going to look like a construction site, I nearly stood up and clapped, I’m very excited.”
When asked whether the GNU is going to last following remarks by Economic Freedom Fighters leader, Julius Malema, who said that it will only last a year or a maximum of two years, McKenzie said the GNU was going to last.
“The EFF said they are the government in waiting for five years, they are still waiting and I’m even a minister today. The EFF is not an indicator of what is going to happen in the future,” he said.
“This GNU is going to last, we are going to work, we are going to build South Africa. We can’t take the EFF serious, they are outside they don’t know how we are smiling inside.”
McKenzie told the broadcaster that as the GNU, they have a civil of resolving their issues and where they differ, they reach consensus.
He gave an example about his stance regarding foreigners.
“I want ‘abahambe’ (they should leave) if it was up to me, they would be ‘abahambe’ ‘abahambe’ but I have to be realistic and accept that I didn’t get the majority, so I have to listen to other views,’’ he said.
Earlier, Malema said he was unimpressed with Ramaphosa’s speech and described it as a waste of state resources and useless.
“It’s very clear that the President has got no plan to transform South Africa for the better. He said nothing about international relations because that is a point of disagreement to this GNU,” Malema told the SABC.
“There was nothing about the judiciary, nothing about the land. He can’t concretely say, this is the amount of hectares we are going to give to our people. He said a pure lie that he created two million jobs which we have never seen as the people of South Africa... He comes speaks to us on the same useless things he’s non-committal.”
The red beret leader also took a swipe at the positions held by white members of parliament and accused Ramaphosa of being a sell-out by implementing the GNU.
“The happiest people is the DA because its the biggest winner out of this GNU sell-out government. President Ramaphosa has once more sold-out South Africa like he did in 1994 when he didn’t attend Nelson Mandela’s inauguration and today he speaks highly of him for opportunistic reasons,” he said.
Malema said he gives the GNU government a year to collapse.
“If it doesn’t collapse within a year, it will not go beyond two years we can guarantee South Africans that a progressive government is coming which will transform the land and nationalise the banks,” he said.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
IOL News